Conversations
by JediShadow
Summary: Just some one-shots of conversations that weren't in the books but definitely happened.
1. Shelby-Laura

"Hey," Laura said tentatively, coming into her room. Shelby was sitting on her bed, already in her pyjamas, staring into space.

"No." Clearly Shelby'd guessed where the conversation was heading.

"Okay, okay." Laura sighed and got into bed. "If you really don't want to talk..."

"I don't." Shelby lay down and pulled her covers over. "I really don't."

"Fine." Laura rolled over and counted down the seconds until Shelby started to talk.

"I just...don't like being exposed like that. It's unfair. They've taken everything else away from us, they might as well let me have some privacy. What difference does it even make? It won't exactly make me a better student, or less likely to escape."

"You're right. It's not fair. I want out as much as you do, believe me."

Shelby stared at the ceiling with her eyebrows knit together. "Why _are_ you here?"

Laura hesitated.

"I didn't exactly get to choose, remember."

"Hmmph. Fine. There was this girl at school, I reckoned she was gossiping about me behind my back, so I listened in on some of her phone calls."

"That's it." There was heavy sarcasm in Shelby's voice.

"Give me a second! I didn't have the equipment to do it, so I hacked an air force base. And you know the rest."

"Hang on," Shelby said, finally turning over to face Laura. "What did an air force base have that the nearest hardward store didn't? Sure, it makes for a better story, but I'm more a believer in convenience than style usually."

"Well, _you've_ definitely never eavesdropped on a phone call...or been in a hardware store," Laura said with a small grin.

"Not the first one. I've been in a hardware store, but I forget, our stores are much better than yours, clearly."

"You Americans, God. If we stay here long enough, maybe I'll teach you how to intercept a phone call. Then maybe you'll realize that the sophisticated equipment needed for such a task can simply not be found in a _hardware store._ "

"Yeah, intercepting a phone call, a real useful skill in a giant volcano with no reception and no phones."

"Fair enough. But listen, you obviously want to leave."

"It showed?" Shelby said sarcastically.

"Funnily enough, yes. You've met Wing and Otto, right?"

"Tall one and the short one? I think so. What about them?" Shelby asked.

"They want to get away too, and so do I. We're trying to come up with a plan, but Otto reckons we need you on our team. What do you say?"

"Sorry. Work better alone. I'm a Wraith, you'll weigh me down."

"You can't hack," Laura pointed out. "Otto and I can."

"Then it's lucky that _my_ plans don't involve hacking," Shelby retorted. "Just sneak around until you find a way out, since there obviously is one, nobody will catch me because there'll only be one of me."

"It's not always as easy as that."

"Listen - it's Laura, right? I've broken in and out of enough high-security places uncaught to be able to tell you that it's always as easy as that."

"This isn't a jewelry store, Shelby!" Laura snapped, feeling frustrated. "It's a prison, and if you want to get out we all need to work together."

"Ugh. What do you even need me for?"

"Isn't it obvious? Since you're quite clearly some ninja-wraith, you steal the equipment we need."

"What equipment?"

"Otto's looking into it."

Shelby sighed. "Right then. Tomorrow I'll talk to Otto about this plan of his. If I reckon you stand a chance, I'll tag along. Deal?"

"Deal. Goodnight."


	2. Raven-Nero

**Set at the end of Zero Hour (if you haven't read it, beware major spoilers.)**

Raven pushed the door open to see Doctor Nero, lying on a stretcher.

"Hello, Max," she said, closing the door behind her. "I'm supposed to be giving you some peace so you can recover but I figured you'd be sick of peaceful alone time by now and besides...I'm very good at getting people to make exceptions for me."

Nero smiled.

"And again, I'm so, so sorry about -"

"Natalya," Nero interrupted her, " _Please_ stop apologizing. With your help, we've killed Overlord."

"Not before I nearly killed you and Overlord _did_ kill Miss Dexter," Raven said quietly. "And who knows what else if it hadn't been for the five of them. I will have to thank them all personally later on. Anyway, did anything else happen that I need to know about?"

"You may have already heard about Chief Lewis. We'll need to find a replacement fast, but he's a tough man to replace."

Raven's expression was grave. "Maybe Diabolus knows somebody."

"I certainly hope so, because with Overlord gone, it's only a matter of time before something newer and even more sinister shows up and I don't want to put H.I.V.E. in any more danger than I already have."

Raven raised her eyebrows. "Fifty Chief Lewises couldn't keep this school safe as long as Otto's still here."

Nero sighed. "While unfortunately I'm sure that's true, we could use an extra pair of eyes. Besides, with Overlord dead, with any luck whatever turns up next won't have anything to do with Otto."

"Either he has no idea what's happening or he has something to do with it," Raven pointed out. "If something is threatening the school, it'll be pretty hard to keep him away from it. You know, he's a little bit like you in that sense."

"I have actually considered that notion before," Nero said. "I'm sure he'll make an exceptional G.L.O.V.E. operative in a few years time."

"Well, recover fast, and then you can go back to being exceptional too," Raven said, standing up. "Goodnight."


	3. Fantastic Four

"You may be wondering why I have gathered you here." Otto sat beside his computer and leant backwards.

"Nope." Shelby, of course, immediately felt compelled to clarify.

"Well, stop your wondering-"

"We're not wondering-"

"And behold my wondrous plan: Operation Escape."

Laura raised her eyebrows. "Nothing's happening. What are we beholding?"

"As you all know," Otto went on, ignoring her, "You all here because you have a compelling desire to leave this island. Completely understandable, of course. I want to help you escape, and I have a brilliant plan to do so. I take it you have all noticed that our jumpsuits replace themselves overnight?"

"Yes, we have noticed," Wing said.

"I have taken it upon myself to investigate, and realised that at two o'clock every morning you can't open the wardrobes for a few seconds. Then afterwards, when you open it, the new uniform is there. The old ones are presumably taken to the laundry system, which could be our only way to escape unnoticed."

"Where do I come in?" Shelby interrupted, sticking her hand into the air. "I came here because I was told I was needed to find equipment."

"Patience, young one. To exit from there, we need to switch off HIVEmind. We need to create a button that can do so."

"Oh, okay. Fair enough. What do you need?"

"It's a big list," Otto warned her.

"I can manage."

"You sure?"

Shelby looked annoyed. "Just give me this list, I'll take a quick look and see how easy it'll be."

"Okay, okay."

"Hold up a second," Laura said. "Are you telling me we're escaping via the wardrobes? I think it's a great plan, if we're trying to escape via Narnia."

"Don't worry, this plan doesn't involve any trips to snowy forests full of fauns - I don't even like Turkish Delight," Otto joked. "Remember though, Narnia had a happy ending."

* * *

"Right, Malpense, I took a look," Shelby announced. "They might as well have put everything you need into a box and label it 'free equipment for escape aid'. I'll have everything in two days time. And please don't look so doubtful or I might change my mind."

"Sorry, sorry," Otto said sheepishly. "But since you're so good, can you make it one day?"

"Don't push it."

* * *

"Knock, knock." Shelby barged in and carefully began to lay out a bunch of electrical equipment on Otto's bed. "One SD card, one micro-SD card, one motherboard, three ports, two USBs, one network interface card, one micro-computer, an eight-inch screen and about a thousand wires."

She straightened her back and looked meaningfully at Otto.

"Did I miss anything?"


	4. Raven-Anastasia

**Set after Deadlock.**

"Natalya."

Anastasia Furan looked almost amused as Raven entered her cell.

"Natalya is my name only to those whom I trust. I am Raven to you."

Anastasia smiled bitterly. "It was I who made you into Raven. I have earned that right, I think."

"Then simply do not address me. You don't have that right anymore, you never have." Raven clenched her fists.

"I am surprised you are permitted to visit me," Anastasia said dryly.

Raven raised her eyebrows. "I had to fight for it, and I'm not even allowed my katanas. Five men are waiting with Sleepers outside."

"So you fought this hard to come and say to me...what?" The woman frowned. "What do you want to say?"

"I didn't actually plan anything out. More wanted to come and enjoy your suffering from a first-person perspective," Raven told her coldly.

"Well, you're achieving that."

"Don't worry," Raven assured her. "With any luck, soon enough Nero'll decide you're too dangerous to be kept alive, and when he does I'll be sure to let you know - with a katana."

"Have you got anything else to say?" The woman sighed.

"Don't test my patience. I could kill you very fast and very quietly. By the time anyone realised, it would be too late."

"But you aren't going to do that," Anastasia said, satisfied. "Because you hate me too much to let me die."

"No," Raven replied. "Because Nero has asked me not to."

"So now you take orders from him that go against the one thing you have wanted to do since you were ten?" Furan laughed. "See, I was right all along. You do not get to choose in this world."

"If I wanted you dead, you would be dead," Raven reminded her. "In time, Nero would forgive me. He may have asked me not to kill you, but it is my choice to listen to him."

"You know that that isn't true though, don't you? Natalya -"

"My name," Raven said, very quietly, "is Raven."


	5. Otto-Penny

Otto found Penny hunched up in a corner in the library, looking sullen and depressed.

"Hey, Penny," he said tentatively. "Um...I didn't get the chance to talk to you earlier, but..." he was unsure what to say.

"I know, I know, we miss him so much, couldn't have foreseen it, cheer up," Penny replied. "He got _killed_ and they're treating it like he went on holiday."

"Afraid to say, Tom's hardly been the first of our friends to die unfairly," Otto admitted. "We come back from the dead a lot at H.I.V.E., but sometimes someone...well...doesn't. They didn't know him for long, but believe me, we're all missing him."

Penny sighed. "Well, that's only one of three things."

"The second being?" Otto prompted.

"Laura's back too, and since she's still alive and they've known her longer, everyone's forgotten about me."

"They haven't-"

"Forgotten about me, I know," she said wearily. "I just feel a bit..."

"I get it," Otto said. "Firstly, if you didn't keep hiding away here they might be less 'forgetful' of you. Second, I knew both of you long before I knew any of those guys, so whatever happens we're still friends, OK?"

Penny nodded reluctantly.

"So what's the last thing?"

She made a face. "I know everyone's saying it's not my fault -"

"It's not."

"No, it's not," she replied quietly. "But it is Laura's fault."

Otto cursed inwardly. He really didn't know how to respond to this one.

"I know you've got something going on between the two of you so I get that it's hard to hear this," she began, "but she got us into the Glasshouse, she-"

"That wasn't -"

" _I know_ ," Penny repeated, looking frustrated. "That doesn't change anything. She was still part of the reason we had to spend months getting beaten up by those monsters. Then the thing with the virus and the location - I didn't really get how it worked - her idea. I can't remember whose idea it was to have Tom be the distraction, but it was her idea. And obviously I can't say that, because her family this and she's our friend that - I don't care. It's still at least partly her fault that my best friend is dead."

"Listen, I can't argue with any of that," Otto agreed. "But she's a good person. You're a good person. Nobody would've thought that Furan would take it so far. We all miss Tom and the fact of the matter is, you're still in the same year, in the same stream, for another two years. You have to figure something out."

That nearly made her laugh. "We really don't. It's very simple actually."

"Then I'll _make_ you figure it out," he insisted. "You're both my friends, you'll have to."

She rolled her eyes. "You can't ask me to forgive her."

"Except it wasn't her f-"

"Yes, it was. At least partly. Now will you let me finish? You can't ask me to forgive her, but I will _try_ -" she said it in a way that meant she didn't expect to manage - "to forgive her, and to not be a miserable lump forevermore. Happy?"

Otto sighed. "I'm sorry, Penny."

"Aren't we all," Penny said bitterly. "But Otto - thanks."


	6. Chapter 6

**Set during Zero Hour (we can all guess when. ;)**

"So," Shelby said with forced cheerfulness. "What do we do next?"

"There isn't usually a plan in a situation like this," Lucy replied. Laura muttered something under her breath that sounded a lot like "yeah, right".

Shelby rolled her eyes. "Seriously? Are you two going to spend all year making passive-aggressive comments at each other?"

The way they both looked at her suggested that the answer was a resounding 'yes'.

"And they call me immature," she groaned. "I'm going to...I don't know. Let me know when you've fixed your issues."

They saw her smoothing her hair out as she went below the deck.

"She has a point, you know," Lucy said quietly.

"And when do we ever listen to Shelby?" Laura almost smiled.

"More than I ever plan on telling her," was the blunt response. "Listen, if you're annoyed at me just go on and say so."

"I have no reason to be annoyed at you."

"And I suppose that's why you're looking at me like Raven looks at people when she's about to kill them," Lucy sighed. "I'm your friend, you can talk to me."

"About what?"

Lucy bit back a ruder response. "Look, are you jealous or aren't you? Just tell me and then we can talk about something else until Overlord is gone."

"Lucy, there's an evil AI taken control of Raven. I have bigger things to worry about than what you and Otto get up to."

"You do realize that that had a yes-or-no answer." Lucy fought to hide her grin. "You either say no or mean yes."

"In that case I've answered, so can we talk about something else now?"

"If we can talk like friends and not grumpy co-workers."

"I can try," Laura sighed. "Um..." she trailed off, trying to think of something to say. Where do you think Shelby's off to?"

That made Lucy smile. "My guess is as good as yours. In fact, it's probably the same as yours."

"I always knew she was lying about not being into him," Laura said triumphantly. "I'm going to give her hell when she gets back up here."

"If she ever decides that it's necessary," Lucy grinned. "But about the always - can I have some background info?"

"Well, we told you about when Cypher attacked the school and made it look like he killed Wing?"

Lucy nodded, interested.

"Safe to say Shelby wasn't happy."

"Huh."

"I've actually never seen her so badass and she's had a lot of moments. "

"She has," Lucy smiled. "Listen, if the other day-"

"Uh uh," Laura said. "Not talking about it until Overlord's taken care of, remember?"

"Right." Lucy really couldn't decide what to make of that. "I'm glad."

Just then Nigel entered with Franz close behind. "Have either of you seen Shelby or Wing?"

"If you find one, the other probably won't be far," Laura grinned. "But no."

"Okay, well whatever that means, Doctor Nero wants you to report to the briefing room. If you see them along the way, tell them to follow." He ran back out.

Lucy stood up, looking at Laura tentatively. "Friends?"

Laura sighed grudgingly. "Friends."


	7. Chapter 7

**Set after Deadlock.**

"So, are you two dating now?" Shelby said excitedly as she shut the door.

"Thanks Shel, I missed you too," Laura laughed, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, the Glasshouse was hell, thanks for asking."

"I've _said_ all of that," Shelby grinned, flopping down on her bed. "Come on, you know you want to..."

"...and I got beaten up so much, it was terrible..." Laura stopped as her friend leaned over the edge of the bed with her fist raised jokingly. "Okay, okay...maybe?"

"You either are or you aren't, Laura, do you not know anything about dating?"

"Not really, no. I haven't had much time to learn amidst saving the world and becoming a supervillain, you know?" Shelby threw a pillow at her. "Anyways, did you and Wing ever make it official?"

"Technically no, but don't change the subject. This is different."

"Why, because it wasn't on a submarine?"

"Hey," Shelby said with a grin, "one day that'll be a great story for my grandchildren."

"Wing's grandchildren," Laura said under her breath. "Sorry, don't hurt me! Yeah, cool story kids, our resident psycho assassin got mind-controlled and we had to take cover in a giant submarine and it was so scary and romantic that you went off to kiss."

"Exactly," Shelby laughed. "Brilliant story. Better than yours anyway - the library, Laura, the library."

"I didn't see you complaining when you made it into a spectator sport," Laura sighed, smiling. "And I'm terribly sorry to disappoint you, but I honestly don't know. It sort of seemed that way, but maybe not. I mean it's been barely a year since Lucy...you know."

"Yes, I know. But remember something - Lucy started that whole thing, not Otto. Boys will be boys, he was obviously going to go with the first girl that showed interest...at first. But if it had been up to him, we all know it would've been you."

"Yes," Laura said, "I feel so confident knowing Otto finds me more attractive than a dead girl."

Shelby leaned over to pick up her pillow and then threw it at Laura again. "I am trying to be helpful here. If you prefer, I could be annoying."

Laura sighed and rolled over. "I'm sorry. It's just..."

"I know, Laura. Did you really think all I was good for was picking locks?"

"No," Laura said, smiling slightly, "you also have a rather powerful punch."

"And a powerful pillow throw."

"Okay, I get it. I shouldn't worry about it because...because..."

"Because Otto obviously likes you," Shelby finished. "And for next week, I'll need two hundred words explaining how - no? Okay. Goodnight."


End file.
